We shine a spotlight on one chef pushing the Arroyo Grande culinary scene forward, who shares his recipe to help you get to the heart of artichokes.

By Matt Kettmann

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Prosciutto-Wrapped Artichokes

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A native of Arroyo Grande, Brian Collins moved to San Francisco to attend culinary school in 2000. He found work at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, where he stayed six years.

“The restaurant, [owner] Alice Waters and their style of cooking are my biggest influences,” he says. “It was important to learn that there are seasons within the seasons. It’s an inspiring environment.”

In 2006, he moved back to the Central Coast, where he learned the financial side of the business as executive chef at Lido in the Dolphin Bay Resort. He then moved to Full of Life Flatbread in Los Alamos, one of the first American restaurants to elevate wood-fired cooking to an art form. He stayed until he was “100-percent ready” to strike out on his own.

That day came in 2013. Collins and his wife took out loans, and he and his dad designed and constructed the restaurant themselves.

“It’s a great process to learn from the ground-up in the kitchen, [and] by building the restaurant, too,” he says. “It was really neat.”

Photo by Kendra Aronson

After Collins hired a “hand-selected, all-star team,” as he describes it, Ember opened in February 2014 to wide acclaim.

“I was nervous as hell,” says Collins. “Everything was on the line.”

He had hoped for 75 guests a night—the restaurant served 450 people that first Saturday. Business has stayed steady ever since, and Ember attracts repeat visits from local winemaking luminaries like Bob Lindquist, Brian Talley and John Alban.

“The restaurant has been incredibly supported and celebrated by the community,” he says. “That means a lot to me. I feel lucky to have made a successful business in the town I grew up in. I never thought it would happen.”

Though most of the menu changes monthly, the focus remains wood-fired cuisine, with the dining tables surrounding the wood-fired open kitchen. “As human beings, everyone has [his or her] inner caveman. We’re geared to gather around the fire, especially when there is food cooking on it.”

Take a taste of the West Coast. This technique will get you right to the tender interior of the artichoke, and the addition of prosciutto brings new flavors out of the vegetable. Collins’ recipe is intended to pair with a vibrant arugula and farro salad with a touch of salsa verde (whose recipes which you can find in the link below) but can also be served alone as appetizers.

This arugula salad is a base for which Brian Collins, chef/owner of Ember, uses for his prosciutto-wrapped artichokes. However, the simple base itself—argula, farro, lemon juice, olive oil and just a touch of seasoning—can be the blank canvas a creative home cook can use to experiment with a variety of flavors and ingredients.

Ingredients

½ pound baby arugula, preferably organic

¼ cup cooked farro

½ teaspoon lemon juice, or to taste

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Directions

Add arugula and farro to mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add lemon juice, and drizzle with olive oil. Toss salad gently. Divide among four plates. Serves 4.

While intended by Chef Collins as a counterpart to his prosciutto-wrapped-artichoke dish, salsa verde is a versatile can be used to add extra flavor to any dish. This recipe is parsley and herb based, allowing the peppers to shine more brightly than in a tomatillo-based preparation.

Add everything to mixing bowl except lemon juice, salt and pepper. Gently mix just until combined. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour to allow flavors to meld before serving.

Reviews wines from California.

A fifth generation Californian originally from San Jose, Matt Kettmann covers California’s Central Coast and South Coast for the magazine. He is also the senior editor of The Santa Barbara Independent, where he’s worked since 1999, has written for the New York Times, Time Magazine, Wine Spectator, and Smithsonian, and co-founded New Noise Santa Barbara, a music festival.